As Oxfordshire Artweeks opens across the city this weekend, art enthusiasts are setting off on a pedometer challenge to see who walks the furthest in their pursuit of creative talent and craftsmanship .
From outside the ECCO shop on New Inn Hall Street where you can collect a free pedometer to count each step taken, visitors to any of the 460 exhibitions are encouraged to count the number of steps they walk as they visit different artist studios, galleries and other venues throughout May. The person who walks the furthest will win Artweeks and ECCO vouchers worth £100.

Exhibition venues include Asthall Manor near Burford, home of the Mitford sisters between 1919 and 1926; a sculpture garden in Oxfordshire’s oldest vineyard; silver jewellery on a 1930s barge on the river Thames, several Oxford Colleges, and in Bampton where the street scenes for the BBCs Downton Abbey were filmed, there’s lots to explore including a varied exhibition in the village’s Grade 2-listed Old Town Hall; contemporary functional furniture by up-and-coming Joshua Rose, and some of the best in emerging and innovative contemporary art at Clanfield’s new High House Gallery.

For full information on Oxfordshire Artweeks 2013 (4th-27th May), pick up an Artweeks Festival Guide at information points across the county, or go online to www.artweeks.org where you can download area trail maps and browse all exhibitions by area, artist or media.

Photo opportunity: Friday 3rd May 11.30 am (time flexible) Contact Esther Browning 07776 196967